Best Practise in Process Design PV207 - Business Process Modelling Lubomír Dočkal March 23, 2014 Last Lecture Recap Boundary Intermediate Events Interrupting vs Noninterrupting events Last Lecture Recap BPM, BPMN, BPMS ,BP?... There has been a lot of BP[?] so far. BPM Business Process Management IT-Business approach to manage a company covers a lot of technical and business disciplines BPMS Business Process Management System technical system which made BPM live heart of the modern BPM(2.0) BPMN Business Process Modelling notation describes process in precise, non-ambiguous way programming/diagrammatic language for a process modeller Introduction 1 process execution behind the scene 2 best practise of process modelling 3 basic mistakes in process design 4 7 guidelines for better models 5 from abstract process to executable one 6 process redesign, pursuing the desired effect 7 conclusion Outline 1 Process Execution Behind the Scene 2 Best Practise of Process Modelling 3 Basic Design Mistakes 4 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling 5 From Abstract to Runnable 6 Process Redesign 7 Conclusion Process Execution Behind the Scene Petri Nets theoretical concept of processes and their execution strong mathematical background o lot features can be proven deadlock free unreachable part of a process fairness Process Execution Behind the Scene Petri Nets elements Petri net consists of three basic elements Process Execution Behind the Scene Petri Nets tokens dynamic element of the model they sits in places move along the arcs are moved when transition fires transition may fire only if it is enabled Process Execution Behind the Scene Petri Nets in Vivo Process Execution Behind the Scene Petri Nets conclusion there is a transition from PN to BPMN, they are quite similar necessary when you need to prove heavy features of a process the principle of moving tokens is useful when looking for errors Outline 1 Process Execution Behind the Scene 2 Best Practise of Process Modelling 3 Basic Design Mistakes 4 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling 5 From Abstract to Runnable 6 Process Redesign 7 Conclusion Best Practise of Process Modelling Best practise proved useful over time evolved to be the best we can get just a practise not the must obey law frees us from ’reinvent a wheel’ case always an example which needs refinement Best Practise of Process Modelling Process model Always an abstraction of a real world let us better understand the problem powerful communication tool appropriate for target audience complexity VS information value Outline 1 Process Execution Behind the Scene 2 Best Practise of Process Modelling 3 Basic Design Mistakes 4 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling 5 From Abstract to Runnable 6 Process Redesign 7 Conclusion Basic Design Mistakes Basic design mistakes this is not a best practise mistakes that must be avoided demonstrated on very simple processes hard to find in complex processes can be check automatically Basic Design Mistakes What is wrong? Basic Design Mistakes Dangling token Basic Design Mistakes What is wrong? Basic Design Mistakes Possible deadlock Basic Design Mistakes What is wrong? Basic Design Mistakes Never ending process Outline 1 Process Execution Behind the Scene 2 Best Practise of Process Modelling 3 Basic Design Mistakes 4 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling 5 From Abstract to Runnable 6 Process Redesign 7 Conclusion 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling 7 Guidelines of process modelling for clear and understandable models usability is a quality issue tells only how, nothing about what change only structure not behaviour some have contradictory effect, so choose wisely prioritised by industry experts 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Use as few elements in the model as possible 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Minimize the routing paths per element 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Use one start event 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Model as structured as possible 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Avoid inclusive gate elements 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Use verb-object activity labels 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Decompose the model if more than 50 elements Friday Review Issue List Are issues ready? Issue List [Initial] No Discussion Cycle Announce Issues for Discussion Check Calendar for Conference Call Moderate E-mail Discussion 7 Days Delay 6 days from Announcement E-mail discussion Deadline Warning Evaluate Discussion Progress Conference Call in Discussion Week? Moderate Conference Call Discussion Wait until Thursday, 9 am No Yes Issue List [In Discussion] Conference Calls are every two weeks Warning Text The Process will loop if there is no discussion of the issues or sufficient solutions Issue List [Ready] Issue List [Not Ready] Announce Issues for Vote Yes VotingMembers Issue Announcement Deadline Warning Collect Votes Check Calendar for Conference Call Moderate E- mail Discussion Delay 13 days Conference Call in Voting Week? Wait until Thursday, 9am Moderate Conference Call Discussion No Yes Issue List [In Voting] E-mail Vote Deadline Warning Delay 1 day Warning Text Receive Vote Increment Tally Post Status on Web Site Member Vote Issue Votes Prepare Results Post Results on Web Site E-mail Results of Vote Did Enough Members Vote? Reduce number of Voting Members and Recalculate Vote Have the Members been warned? Re-announce Vote with Warning to Voting Members Vote Announcement Vote Issue Votes [Final] No Issues w/o Majority? Yes Yes No Deadline Warning Vote Results Warning Text Vote announcement with Warning 2nd Time No Yes Reduce to Two Solutions E-mail Voters that have to Change Votes Issue Votes [Adjusted] No Yes Change Vote Message Issue Votes [Final 2] Issue Votes [Adjusted] Issue Votes [Final 2] Wait until Monday, 9 Am 14 Days 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Decompose the model if more than 50 elements 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Guidelines overview pos. Description 1 Use as few elements as possible 2 Minimize the routing paths per element 3 Use one start event 4 Model as structured as possible 5 Avoid inclusive gate elements 6 Use verb-object activity labels 7 Decompose a model with more than 50 elem. 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling Guidelines prioritisation pos. Description 1 Model as structured as possible 2 Decompose a model with more than 50 elem. 3 Use as few elements as possible 4 Use verb-object activity labels 5 Minimize the routing paths per element 6 Use one start event 7 Avoid inclusive gate elements Outline 1 Process Execution Behind the Scene 2 Best Practise of Process Modelling 3 Basic Design Mistakes 4 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling 5 From Abstract to Runnable 6 Process Redesign 7 Conclusion From Abstract to Runnable From abstract to runnable start with a process understandable by business people such process is build up to follow business goals add value etc. end with a process executable by a machine such process should be without ambiguity complete fault tolerant From Abstract to Runnable Missing time-out Assumes that the other party will respond From Abstract to Runnable Inappropriate handling of revision request It is better to continue as the same case From Abstract to Runnable Inappropriate end of (sub)process: the process continues along the same path irrespective of a positive or negative result From Abstract to Runnable Sunny day scenario Outline 1 Process Execution Behind the Scene 2 Best Practise of Process Modelling 3 Basic Design Mistakes 4 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling 5 From Abstract to Runnable 6 Process Redesign 7 Conclusion Process Redesign Process Redesign everything gets old even processes environment undergoes never-ending change processes should adapt to the change from time to time two ways how to do it by revolution => design from scratch by evolution => redesign the old one Process Redesign Evolution input to redesign can be regular business process undocumented, manual, ad-hoc process redesign is often about trade-offs measure and match the performance of AS-IS and TO-BE four parameters: Quality, Time, Flexibility, Cost Process Redesign Contact reduction: reduce the number of contacts with customers and third parties the exchange of information with a customer is time-consuming each contact may introduces new errors possible risk of losing some valuable data Q+/– T+ F+ C+/– Process Redesign Order types: determine whether tasks are related to the same type of order and, if necessary, distinguish new business processes concerned with sub-flows that are not specific for the business process they are part of. may cause less effective management of this sub-flow result in more coordination problems between the business processes less possibilities for rearranging the process Q– T+ F– C+ Process Redesign Task elimination: eliminate unnecessary tasks from a business process task is considered unnecessary when it adds no value from a customer’s point of view control tasks and redundant tasks in a business process are such cases Q– T+ F+ C+ Process Redesign Triage: consider the division of a general task into two or more alternative tasks Goal is to design tasks that are better aligned with the capabilities of resources and the characteristics of the orders being processed each expert does what he knows best adds complexity thus less flexibility possible risk for quality from monotonous work Q+/– T+ F– C+ Process Redesign Parallelism: consider whether tasks may be executed in parallel putting tasks in parallel leads to reduced throughput time fights with a legacy from old hand to hand systems the management of business processes with concurrent behavior can become more complex Q– T++ F– C– Outline 1 Process Execution Behind the Scene 2 Best Practise of Process Modelling 3 Basic Design Mistakes 4 7 Guidelines of Process Modelling 5 From Abstract to Runnable 6 Process Redesign 7 Conclusion Conclusion Summary basic mistakes in process design 7 guidelines for better models from abstract process to executable one process redesign, pursuing the desired effect Conclusion Further reading just for curious one: Best practices in business process redesign:an overview and qualitative evaluation of successful redesign heuristics recommended for everyone: BPMN 2.0 by Example former is available through electronic resources latter at bpmn.org Conclusion Questions? Thank you for your attention